Salut les beautés!

Ah winter, the time of year where I want nothing more than to hibernate. Since I cannot give in to that temptation and instead have to venture outside, I’ve had to made modifications to my hair care routine to adjust to the cooler temperature.

Below is how I keep my hair shiny, fluffy and most of all healthy:

Pre-poo

I apply a homemade oil mixture making sure to cover my hair from scalp to tip. The oil is a mixture of castor oil which supplies omega 6 fatty acids for healthy hair, eucalyptus oil which encourages circulation, peppermint oil which moisturizes and promotes hair growth and tea tree oil which moisturizes the hair and scalp and prevents hair loss. Once the oil is applied I put my hair in a bun and go on with my day or night.

The following day aka washday I apply an Ayurvedic paste, steam for 10 minutes and wash it out using As I am conditioning wash and then apply macadamia natural oil deep repair masque and leave it in while I shower and rinse. Below is the recipe for the paste.

1. 2 table spoons of henna
2. 1 table spoon of brahmi
3. 1 table spoon of Amla 
4. 1 table spoon of Neen
5. 3 table spoons of raw honey

I then apply the products listed below in the order listed and do 6 big twists in my hair and twirl the ends with my fingers and let it air dry. I do not diffuse, ever heat is not my friend so much so that I’ve decided not to straighten my hair anymore because I’ve recently had to cut 5 inches due to damage.

Application of products

1. Prepoo oil mixture
2. Shea moisture volumizing conditioner
3. Shea moisture curl milk
4. Ouidad climate control gel

The plan is for me to record myself following these steps sooner rather than later.

XO,

Cocotteamour

4 years ago I made the hard decision to stop relaxing my hair and to go natural. I had this idea that my hair would miraculously be curly within a few months. Boy was I wrong. 2 years of bad hair regimen, frying and dying my hair, left my hair dry, brittle and me looking like Don King’s long lost daughter. One day after spending 3 hours trying to do something with my not going to grow hair, I decided to use top into what everyone uses for information, google, to get help on what to do with my hair. And boy did I hit the jackpot! There are so many natural hair blogs out there giving tons of advice but ultimately you have to find what works best for you. Below is my hair regimen 🙂

-Wash day!

1. the day before washing my hair I rub coconut oil on my scalp and stands in sections and bun it (so if/when you see me wearing a bun, I’m not trying something new, I’m conditioning my hair : )
2. the next day I take down my bun and separate my hair into 4 sections and apply a mixture of henna (2 tbs), Brahmi (1 tbs), and Amla (1 tbs) into my hair. *side note-I get those products in little India on 28th and Lexington in a store called little India. Super cheap and great for the hair. I create a paste by adding water.
3. Once the paste is applied in my hair I go under my huetiful hair steamer for 15 minutes. (the hair steamer cost $100 and is the best investment a woman can make, your hair will love you)
4. After 15 minutes, I hop in the shower and rinse, and boy do you need to rinse. It’s like having mud in your hair. It sounds disgusting but my hair is always soft and shiny afterwards to totally worth it.
5. Then I apply my shea moisture organic anti-breakage masque (keep in my mind that I rinse my hair and apply this into the 4 sections), and go back under the steamer for another 15 minutes.
6. After those last 15, my hair is screaming from delight or at least I think she is because my hair is as soft as butter and shinny.
7. Then I go into the shower and rinse that out and apply Aussie moist conditioner to make sure that i get everything out.
8. After hair is rid of all products ( I don’t leave anything in even a little bit, you will see why)
9. when I get out of the shower while wrapped in my towel I align the products I use

• Shea moisture’s Yucca & Baobab volumizing conditioner
• aloe vera juice (with natural oils, orange oil, almond oil, eucaluptus oil and tea tree oil)
• Tressfully Yours scalp stimulator oil
• Ouidad climate control gel

Product application

1. In sections, I apply the scalp stimulator oil in the body of my hair focusing mostly on the ends. I do that to each of the four sections and clip each section when I am done and go on to the next.
2. Once my entire head is done I apply two quarter size of the volumizing conditioner  in each section (keep in mind that my hair is super thick and reaches waist length when straight so apply accordingly).
3. Right after I apply the conditioner in one section I put the aloe vera juice over it and run my fingers though. Aloe vera juice seals in the moisture in my hair. ( I put the oils in it because it stinks and I want good smelling hair 🙂
4. Then I apply a nickel size of the climate control gel and twist that section.
5. I continue to do the same to the other 3 sections until I am done.

In the end, I end up with 4 big twists. What I do after that is pin them and go to work, sleep or about my business. I let my hair air dry that way (heat is the enemy). It usually takes a full day for it to dry, again my hair is really thick and is really long when it was shorter it only took a few hours.

-Fluffing hair

1. Once my hair is fully dry, I untwist my hair and gently shake my hair and rake my fingers through to blend in the sections. It needs to be done gently so you don’t end up with fuzzy hair. And I go about my business

-Night time routine

1. I usually put my hair into a high bun and go to sleep with a bonnet, not sexy but totally worth it. Depending on your hair you may have to retwist it. My little sister does but because my hair is a different texture I don’t have to.

-Next day hair

1. take down bun, fluff hair, run hands under water and scrunch hair. Repeat with a dime size of conditioner and go about business.
2. I do this for 3-5 days until its time to apply coconut oil and restart process. 🙂

I really hope that this is helpful to someone and feel free to ask questions. Below are links to the products mentioned:

1. Coconut oil: http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=SA-7011
2. Ouidad climate control gel: http://www.sephora.com/climate-control-heat-humidity-gel-P242148?om_mmc=Googlepla&_requestid=42976&cm_mmc=us_search-_-GG-_-pla-_-%7Bkeyword%7D&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=1200104
3. Aussie Moist conditioner: http://www.soap.com/p/aussie-moist-conditioner-240738?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_S&utm_term=PG-4303&utm_campaign=GoogleAW&CAWELAID=1323220133&utm_content=pla&adtype=pla&cagpspn=pla
4. Shea moisture anti breakage masque: http://www.target.com/p/sheamoisture-12oz-yca-anit-brk-mask/-/A-13969508#prodSlot=dlp_medium_2_6&term=shea%20moisture
5. Shea moisture volumizing conditioner: http://www.target.com/p/shea-moisture-organic-yucca-baobab-thickening-conditioner-12-oz/-/A-12239781
6. Aloe Vera Juice: http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=VS-2277
7. Brahmi: http://www.ranisworldfoods.com/products/Hesh-Brahmi-Powder-100G.html?gclid=COncrK792bMCFa5QOgoduh4Azw
8. Amla: http://www.ranisworldfoods.com/products/Hesh-Amla-Powder-100G.html
9. Henna: http://www.ranisworldfoods.com/products/Afshan-Henna-100G.html
10. Tressfully Yours scalp stimulator oil: http://www.tressfullyyours.com/stimulating-scalp-oil/

Last saturday, my baby sister, Rhy and I headed over to the naturallycurly.com Pool party where we sipped on drinks, met fellow natural divas, ate and got advice on how to maintain our mane. There I was introduced to Ouidad, a curly hair product, I never heard of before. One of the consultants talked to us about which of their products worked best for our hair and even did demonstration on Tina’s hair (baby sis). Thankfully our goodie bag included their climate control heat & humidity gel, and after trying it out I must say, I LOVE IT!!! Below are pics from the event. Go to http://www.ouidad.com to look up their products and tutorials.

A few years ago I made the decision to go natural, as in I stopped perming, or relaxing my hair. Every time people ask me why,  I find myself giving each person a different answer. That’s because frankly I don’t know for sure. It wasn’t because my hair was breaking off, if anything my hair couldn’t have been any healthier. It was long straight and black and gorgeous. I just decided that I didn’t want to spend a whole Saturday getting my hair done anymore and stuck with it. But what I can say is that my journey has been more than just about my going natural. My transition was more therapeutic than anything else because I didn’t have my long locks to hide behind. I was transparent, bare. It forced me to realize that being beautiful had very little to do with the outside in comparison to the inside. During my transition I was forced to let go of the pain from my past and become a new me and  I love me. I have a much higher sense of self worth and I am no longer angry at the things that happened to me. So now when I think about my natural I think about the therapeutic relief it gave me and I am glad.

Natural hair=natural me

A Diary left opened, read & discuss.